This is my first foray into high-end cream shadows. The only cream eyeshadow I own before this was a Maybelline Color Tattoo 24Hr Cream Gel Shadow in Fierce&Tangy. It does give wonderfully intense color and did not bulge or crease after 10+ hours. However, it is more of a cake eyeliner consistency, kind of dry so it’s difficult to pick up with a brush and takes some effort to blend. Since Tom Ford just came out with their Cream & Powder Eye Color, and Charlotte Tilbury just came out with her Eyes to Mesmerize, and Nordstrom was having the triple points event, I figured it would be a good time to grab the Armani Eyes to Kill Eyeshadow that I wanted and do a comparison.

Aren’t they pretty?!?!? Read on for swatches and comparison, because they are so shiny I tried to capture them in different lighting for the full range of colors. Anyways, here are the colors I got and the pricing/weight for each:

I was looking forward to the Tilbury in Cleopatra since it looks like such a beautiful jewel toned blue/green in the jar. However, it is very emollient so unless you pile it on, you really get a black base with emerald green sheen. If you are under bright light or using flash, the gorgeous teal/emerald sheen comes out, but under normal lighting the black is a bit more prominent than I expected. You can try to build up to the beautiful jewel tone you see in the pot, but it will crease without a primer. You can either wear it sheer by itself, or get a slightly more intense color over primer.

While both Tilbury and Tom Ford are cream shadows, Tilbury feels a bit more emollient, like vaseline, while Tom Ford feels a bit more powdery/dry. They both give you a beautiful sheen and spreads/applies well, but Tom Ford is a bit more pigmented. Maybe because it’s more powdery and pigmented, it’s easier to blend and get a smooth finish with Tom Ford. The cream shadow of Naked Bronze is a cool dark bronze with a metallic/shimmery finish while the pressed shadow on top is really just glitter, it doesn’t have any color but gives you a veil of fine white gold glitter. I do like the fact that the shadow and glitter can be applied with the finger and the pot comes with a little mirror on the lid for on-the-go use!

So, I thought the Armani Eyes to Kill would be similar but it is different from the other two in texture. It is called 5 Gold Blitz but more of a dark golden bronze color with a metallic sheen. It feels more like a very buttery powder in the pan but glides on like a cream shadow on the eyes. It blends wonderfully, is as pigmented and last just as long as the Tom Ford, but it feels more like a buttery powder eyeshadow while Tom Ford feels like a powdery cream eyeshadow. The Armani shadow even have a little pressed cover thing inside the lid to help keep the shadow in place…… which I will no doubt lose within 3 times of using the shadow, but it’s cute!

The three swatches together are of Tom Ford (glitter and cream, blended on the bottom), Armani and Tilbury. In terms of pigmentation and blendability, I have to say Tom Ford and Giorgio Armani performed better than the Charlotte Tilbury Cleopatra I got. When I wiped the swatches with a tissue, the shine is all gone but the stain/base color still remains for the three shadows, you can see that Tilbury lost most of its green and looks blacker.

Tilbury is nice if you want something sheerer, it’s probably best layered over an eyeliner or something and it is cheaper than the other two. Tom Ford have a more convinient/useful packaging where you have the option of glitter and a little mirror, which makes it more versatile and convinient for touch-ups or traveling. While Tom Ford have the highest price tag, Giorgio Armani worked out to be more expensive per oz because it contain the least amount of products in the jar. Tom Ford is worth it if you know you will use the shade A LOT. But then again, when was the last time you finished an eyeshadow?

I wonder if I was disappointed by Tilbury because it was hyped up so much and Armani isn’t really a cream, but Tom Ford’s quality is undeniable. There is a lot of product so if it’s a shade you know you will love and use all the time, then it’s worth the price tag. I was tempted by the other fancier shade, but it’s too expensive to buy “for fun”.

I was just comparing ingredients of the Armani Eyes to Kill Intense eyeshadows to the L’Oreal® Paris Infallible 24HR Eye Shadows and they’re nearly identical, in near identical order, with identical the packaging. The Armani shadow is $35 and the Loreal just $7.99. You get 1/2 a gram more from Armani, but the $27 price difference is clearly just for the name. This goes on quite a lot with Luxury brands as well as regular name brands vs no name brands (ie. Neutrogena Moisture is the exact same as the Equate (Wamart) brand but $6.00 LESS). This is also why you don’t find a lot of luxury cosmetic and skincare items post their ingredients online, but most can be found doing a photo search. L’Oreal owns Armani Beauty so… 😉